Pope concludes Jews not responsible for death of Jesus Featured
Written by Amy Goodhew , 03 March 2011
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The Pope has this week declared that the Jewish people are not responsible for the death of Jesus of Nazareth.
In a book to be published next week, the Pope concludes that those responsible for the crucifixion were the "Temple aristocracy" and supporters of the rebel Barabbas.
The notion of collective Jewish guilt for the death of Jesus was first circulated by St John to whom the Pope has responded: "How could the whole people have been present at this moment to clamour for Jesus's death?"
Pope Benedict writes that Jesus's death was not about punishment, but salvation. The blood he shed "does not cry out for vengeance and punishment, it brings reconciliation".
Elan Steinberg, vice-president of the American Gathering of Holocaust Survivors and their Descendants, told Reuters: "This is a major step forward. This is a personal repudiation of the theological underpinning of centuries of antisemitism."
Amy Goodhew
I am editor of The Transit Lounge, the youth e-zine for the Uniting Church in Australia, I produce publications, write for other church publications, manage media, graphic design, manage our website and take care of other communication business as needed.
Website: www.thetransitlounge.com.au
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Wednesday, 09 March 2011 15:00 posted by Robert Gribben (Rev. Prof.)
Amy,
It would been good to underline two things following your drawing attention to this important book. One would be to explain its background in the formal declaration of the Roman Church called Nostra Aetate ("In our Time') of 1966 by Pope Paul VI that the Jewish people were not to blame (you could Google the text); the other would be to draw readers' attention to the Uniting Church's Assembly statement on the same subject. I think it's more than mere 'news'; I think it's an improtant moment for learning what our church has said on a signficiant issue. I am sure Pope Benedict's book is being welcomed, not becasue it is new, but because he has been accused of some less than helpful remarks on inter-religious matters in recent times.
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